2024 marks the 40th anniversary of one of the greatest directorial debuts in film history, Rob Reiner This is a spinal tap (1984). This is without a doubt the funniest movie ever made about music and musicians, and arguably The best movies ever made about music and musicians Because, of all the memorable quips and set pieces, it might be the best – in fact, maybe the only OK——A hair metal song I once wrote.
However spinal tap This was just the beginning of a string of brilliant opening films for Reiner, which spanned the remainder of the 1980s and into the early 1990s, spanning genres from documentaries to romantic comedies, and from fantasy to horror.
Since then, no Hollywood director has matched Reiner’s stunning opening film. Even the great Greta Gerwig has only completed three back-to-back classics or near-classics so far lady bird (2017), little women (2019), and Barbie (2023), so she’s only halfway to the remarkable feat Reiner achieved in five of the first six films
Script for this article
This is a spinal tap (1984)
screenwriter: Christopher Guest, Michael McKean, Harry Shearer, Rob Reiner
A 2022 article from the British Film Institute, Rob Reiner: How We Created This is a spinal tapwhich lovingly and hilariously details the original and greatest “Documentary” (even if Renner’s Martin Scorsese alias “Marty Di Bergi” calls it a “rock documentary”). Movie Slowly and beautifully evolved from skits and sketches produced by Christopher Guest and others for various television shows movie star The phenomenon had been developing since the late 1970s, and Reiner later codified it into a brilliantly silly jab.
spinal tap It was such an immediate success and proved to be such a lasting success that it dwarfed the impact of the Scorsese film from which it was inspired. the last waltz (1978), which was about the band’s last performance. spinal tap continues to dwarf any other comedy about music and musicians made since, Possible exceptions are Pushing Forward: The Dewey Cox Story (2007), a parody of the Johnny Cash biopic routing (2005).
Forty years have passed, spinal tap As sharp, accurate, and above all, funny, one can only hope that the sequels Reiner, Guest, and the rest of the Tapers are working on are even half as good interesting Same as before.
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Read more: Sound Stories: The Cinematic Magic of Musical Movies
stand beside me (1986)
screenwriter: Reynold Gideon, Bruce A. Evans and Stephen King
Leonard Cohen once said that a great band or a great artist can be everything you need, and for Stephen King, one of the greatest and most commercially successful authors of the late 20th and early 21st centuries ), this sentence is undoubtedly correct.
King is best known for his “horror universe,” but he also wrote several great non-horror stories or horror stories that were realistic and believable rather than fantastical and ultimately unbelievable. coexisting with the sublime shawshank redemption (1994), Which was guided Directed by Frank Darabont, two of the best non-horror (or believable horror) King movies are Both Directed by Renner.
The first one is stand beside me, This is This is a great coming-of-age movie because it shows how scary it is to “come of age” and abandon your childhood. Said to be inspired by one of King’s childhood memories (although one of his former friends, George MacLeod, claimed that King plagiarized the idea in one of his stories), stand beside me Capturing all the conflicting feelings of adolescence – excitement, fear, etc. – four young boys set out to find the body of another missing, thought-to-be-dead young boy.
But of course, like all the best stories, including King’s, their outer exploration ultimately leads them inward. themselves, The chilling realization is that their childhood won’t last forever.
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princess bride (1987)
screenwriter: William Goldman
In this remarkable opening film, Renner switches genres and themes with ease, in fact, seemingly effortlessly, just as Howard Hawks did in his prime half a century ago. if spinal tap It’s all about “the sights, sounds, and even smells of a hard-working rock band,” princess bride (1987) is overall lighter, sunnier, and dreamier.
It shows how Reiner was born into Hollywood royalty as the son of Carl Reiner, then went on to star as a young actor in hit US sitcoms. Everything is in the family (1971-1979), who seemed to encompass the entirety of American cinema and screen storytelling in the first few films he made.
princess bride screen adaptation of fantasy novel William Goldmanone of the most successful screenwriters of the late 1960s and 1970s.
princess bride is Goldman’s best film adaptation of his own prose, As he has done so far in his directing career, Reiner found the perfect directorial style.
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Read more: The 50 Greatest Screenwriters of All Time
when harry met sally (1989)
screenwriter: Nora Ephron
Reiner’s second film, Certain things (1985), could be considered a preview of one of the better romantic comedies. Five years into his directorial career, Renner has made an entirely different classic spinal tap,Right now when harry met sally (1989), this may be the last truly great romantic comedy of the 20th century, and arguably the last truly great “romantic comedy” of all time. In fact, it might just be the ultimate “romantic comedy,” because it focuses on the central conflict of any romantic comedy, or of any romantic relationship: whether lovers can also be friends and vice versa, or whether it’s both states – friendship and love ——Completely different and contradictory?
Written by Nora Ephron, when harry met sally It was a huge success at the box office and was by far the most successful of Renner’s career, but it was largely criticized when it was first released as a Woody Allen rip-off, or even a “Woody Allen Lite” . However, hIt was written by a woman, when harry met sally This is a far more balanced analysis of the “Battle of the Sexes” than anything Allen (for all his brilliance) has ever written.
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suffering (1990)
screenwriter: William Goldman and Stephen King
Reiner’s early films were equally good, if not great, because their scripts were written by great writers.from spinal tap From then on, Reiner attached great importance to great works, which represent the most complete realization of Guest’s comic genius. This appreciation likely stems from the legacy of his father, Carl, a talented writer who provided material for numerous television shows and films during his extensive career. suffering (1990) is the logical corollary of all great writing: a film written by a great screenwriter (Goldman), adapted from a novel by a great writer (King), who is itself the work of a great writer (King). about A writer.
indeed, suffering is one of them The best movies ever made about writers and writing. Starring James Caan in what may be his greatest film role since godfather (1972) nearly 20 years ago (with the possible exception of works by Michael Mann) thief (1981)), starring as a romance novelist who finds himself imprisoned after a car accident by a woman who claims to be his biggest fan.
at last, suffering is a masterpiece about what writing means to writers and readers. IMHO, David Cronenberg is famous for being probably the best example of “body horror” in the history of cinema. suffering More than just that famous scene, it shows how writers dream of fame but are often unprepared for all its consequences.
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Read more: The most gripping thriller ever: Can you handle the suspense?
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Sadly, Lehner himself couldn’t maintain his stunning start. After making five excellent films in just five years at the start of his career as a director, and never making another one since, it really deserves comparison.
Still, the enduring quality of his early films deserves celebration, at least in spinal tap IIUnfortunately, this could be another not-so-funny sequel to a truly great comedy movie Moderator 2 (2013), further reducing Reiner’s remaining critical inventory.
